Behind Veils, Masks and Hearts
by RoseScor90
Summary: Diya Zabini and Albus Potter; the idea was so absurd they'd have laughed. Diya found it totally cliche; like a story she had heard too many times of hate to love, James and Lily. But as their sixth year nears a close, Diya realises; Albus seems to be completely disinterested in her but she is, well, not. Was he blind to her feelings or is it she who doesn't see behind his cynicism?


A/n: Before you read the story, a fair warning. Its been a couple of years since I wrote fanfics. You might find me a little out of it but I'll surely catch up soon! Help me by leaving suggestions or comments in a review?

The story idea isn't entirely mine; well actually, the story part is. I'd like to dedicate this to Lissie. Lissie, you and I had planned to write Di and Al's story elsewhere but it didn't work out. Hope you'll like the way I'm doing this!

Chapter 1: A Double Date ... Not

"I know you hate breaking routines but come on, Di! Its just one day at Hogsmeade! And you know why I'm begging you to accompany me!" Diya tried her best to ignore Rose's pleas. She knew firsthand and Uncle Malfoy's absurd condition; she had been there when they'd agreed on it, afterall. But that, sadly enough, was the only thing they seemed to agree upon. Of course, there was also the fact that they both seemed to feel the other's kid was injurious to their own.

Diya chuckled; Rose and Scor were near perfect for each other; anybody with eyes could see that. But, as had wisely said, "Weasley and Malfoy men have egos where normal people have eyes and brains."

"You're smiling?" Rose asked incredulously, seeing it as a sign of her win. Diya shook her head and sat down beside Rose on the couch. The commonroom was empty except for them. Diya had been reading a riveting book on the Early Giant Wars when Rose had danced into the room, the skip in her step telling Diya where she had been; or rather, who she had returned from meeting.

What she had said, though, had totally wiped off the knowing smile on Diya's face. Fred and Roxanne were planning some prank on the Slytherins the next day and when the twins got a prank idea in their heads, they'd forget about everything else. Even accompanying Rose and Scor and pretending they didn't exist.

So this time around, it was Diya's turn. She wouldn't have minded, if it had been anyone other than Prickly Potter coming along. She just couldn't stand him for a minute, leave alone a whole day! His morose demeanor and cynical outlook made her feel like someone had just sucked the sunshine out of the day whenever she was around him.

"Diya! Are you even listening to me?" Rose's voice broke her musings and shaking her head in a final 'No', Diya stood to walk out of the room. She knew Rose would pester her until she agreed; Diya atleast wanted to be half asleep, with Patrol behind her before she agreed to something so distasteful.

XXXX

"Do you ever stay in your commonroom after hours, Potter?" Diya's voice was more of a defeated sigh than a reprimand. The triumphant smirk that was sent her way had her bristling, and her next words were sharp, "I'll have to report this to Professor McGonagall, Potter. Your roaming out of hours has gone on for too long."

Diya was sure she heard something along the lines of 'Freaky prefects being able to see through invisibility cloaks' before the cloak was tossed aside and the broodingly handsome form of Albus Potter stood before her. It was something Diya had always wondered; how was it that she was the only one able to see through the Invisibility Cloak? No-one else seemed to; and it was always Potter she caught though Rose had confided in her that she, Fred and Roxanne used it regularly too; even Scorpius had.

"Well then, that should be convenient. Do tell Minnie that I wished her a Merry Christams," he was under the cloak again, though she could see his form clearly moving in the opposite direction, narrowly avoiding running into Filch who walked off with a curt nod to her. Diya knew that was the highest form of regard he bestowed on puny little students.

With an unaffected shrug, she walked back towards the Ravenclaw commonroom, bracing herself for the emotional assault that was sure to be thrown at her by Rose. She wasn't disappointed and by the time Diya was able to crawl into her bed, Rose had extracted from her a promise to accompany her and Scorpius on their date to Hogsmeade; with Potter tagging along unwillingly, of course.

Her last thoughts were of how Scorpius had managed to convince Potter to go to Hogsmeade; from records she had sorted out the previous year, Diya had found out that Potter seldom stepped out of the castle during Hogsmeade weekends. Her dreams were not pleasant; people under invisible cloaks trying to pull her in and Potter's disinterested gaze watching from the sidelines made her wake up gasping for breath.

"Great! Now he won't leave me be even in dreams!" she muttered in an annoyed tone and drawing her cloak tightly around herself, walked down to the commonroom with a book in her hand. She didn't want to go back to dreaming of Potter; it scared her too much.

XXXX

Albus was having a difficult time getting to sleep too; though for an entirely different reason. He wasn't finished speaking his mind and Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy was going to listen to it all. "If you, for even one second think that I'd accompany that stickler to Hogsmeade, Scor, you're very. much. mistaken." He finished with a stress at the last three words.

Scorpius didn't seem to affected; after six years, he was kind of used to his dorm-mate and best friend's dramatics. Sure people thought Albus Potter was cynical, morose, sarcastic and generally depressing but Scorpius was one of the few who was privy to who he was beyond all that.

"You know you'll come, Albus. Out of a sense of duty if not for your guilty conscious. So quit with the 'I'm big, bad and mean' scene. You'll come with Rose, Diya and me tomorrow. Now, let me sleep." With that said, Scorpius settled in his bed, drawing the curtains around lest Albus start again. As an afterthought, he peeked out from behind the curtains and warned, "And the next time you talk like that about Diya, think twice. I'm not always in this good a mood and Diya's about the closest I have to a sister. And for all the complaining you seem to be doing, you never fail to go meet her during her Patrol days."

Albus had so far remained silent throughout the ordeal because one, Scorpius was right. He'd accompany them, of that there was no doubt. Second, Scorpius was insanely protective of Diya, to whom he wasn't even related. Though Scorpius claimed that their fathers were best friends, Albus couldn't understand the dynamics of their relationship. But Scorpius' last words had him retorting sharply, "I wander the castle as I please, Scor. If you think..."

"Fine; go to sleep," Scorpius yawned, tired of having the same argument over and over again. Albus would never accept the truth. He'd even tried to talk about Albus with Diya who had shrugged and called Al a few choice names and walked off. There seemed to be nothing between them save for mutual disregard. One could easily have overlooked them but Scorpius couldn't, or rather, wouldn't. Albus hated routines; he loathed stereotypes. Scorpius had seen him go to insane lengths to break habits and practices. And yet, every day Diya had patrol duty, Albus' invisibility cloak disappeared from the Dorm, and him with it. One of the many things that didn't add up where Al and Diya were concerned.

Rose didn't seem to agree with him; and for good reason. Diya, for all anyone knew, was totally unaffected by Albus. He was just another person to her; that was the conclusion he had to come to after observing her keenly. She didn't seem to have even an inkling of preference for Albus, disappointingly. Maybe a little distaste, but that was it. Scorpius sighed as he drew the covers over his head; maybe he should try to separate them and that would work oppositely.

Scorpius sat up in bed suddenly; that was it! He'd been trying to push them together so bad that they were protesting. Maybe the other way around would work... Scorpius looked around cautiously; thankfully, Albus had walked out of the Dorm and hadn't noticed his actions or he'd have started suspecting.

XXXX

Albus was wandering the grounds aimlessly, Fang at his side. Hagrid had grown tired of berating him after six years and only asked him to take Fang along, these days. He walked towards the Black Lake, its dark rippling water and the cold draft that blew from it calming his nerves. He sat leaning on a Willow tree that had been planted there after the War. There were a number of such memorials in the school; scars of the War that had rocked the entire Wizarding World. Albus hated them; they served no purpose other than to remind him of the past; of what his Father had done in the past. Of whose son he was; of who he was, of whom he resembled.

Albus turned his face away from his reflection; he had no wish to see his face. A mirror image of his Father, he'd been told a thousand times. He hated it; he would have rearranged his face if it hadn't been for his inherent uncaring for others' words. He wouldn't do anything in reaction to what someone said; he wasn't that easily baited.

Just like he wouldn't pay any special attention to Diya Zabini just because Scorpius had hinted that his actions made it seem like he was interested. It was nothing more than a completely absurd observation that he'd forget the next day. Heaving a relieved sigh, he leaned his head on the bark of the tree and closed his eyes, at ease with himself finally; he could see the lights in the Ravenclaw Tower still burning from his place and needed no guesses to know who was there.

A/n: Do you think I have totally lost it?

Preview:

"Potter, if all you're going to do is mock me, then save it. They're having a stupid fight and you're just going to stand there and watch?" Albus rolled his eyes. This, was why he didn't want to go anywhere with Zabini. She was always prim and proper, wanting to do the right thing and all that. If Rose and Scor wanted to yell at each other in the middle of the road, why should he stop them?

"Potter, if you don't do something right now, I'll..." Had she suddenly lost her voice? Diya's eyes seemed to be looking somewhere behind him, which was in no way new. She never looked at his face when she talked. But the fright in her eyes made him turn around and check. Hermione and Astoria came out of the Three Broomsticks first, seeming to have no trouble getting along. Then came the duo even Albus dreaded meeting at this time. Not with Rose and Scor like this! Diya's eyes met his for a brief second, conveying only one thing: Doomsday was upon them!


End file.
